Michael O’Neill’s side currently occupy second place in Group A after their initial two World Cup qualifying fixtures.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has expressed a “real sense of disappointment” within the team following their 3-1 loss to Germany.
Serge Gnabry’s early strike gave Germany the lead in Cologne, but Northern Ireland responded resiliently, with Isaac Price’s volley from a corner bringing the score level.
Northern Ireland appeared poised to frustrate the home side, but a quickfire double from Nadiem Amiri and Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz secured a vital first win in Group A for Germany.
“We are very proud of the display, but there is a real sense of disappointment in the dressing room, which is understandable,” O’Neill stated to BBC Sport NI’s Gavin Andrews.
“This is a really tough game, second game in a short period of time. It showed we weren’t able to make changes. We just don’t have the depth to cope in this situation.”
This video can not be played
Highlights: Germany beat Northern Ireland with quick-fire double
O’Neill lamented defensive lapses, citing a mix-up that allowed Amiri to score Germany’s second, and questioned the free-kick awarded to Wirtz, which he converted expertly.
“For 60 or 65 minutes we were well in the game. The second goal is a bit of a freak goal, we could have defended it better. The third goal isn’t a free-kick. It’s a fantastic finish but it’s a soft free-kick,” he explained.
“I thought the referee was a bit fussy in the second half. He refereed it well in the first.
“We were well in the game and needed to get to that final 15 minutes and we might have had a final chance, but the game drifted away from us.”
Northern Ireland currently hold second position in Group A, with one win and one loss from their opening two matches.
O’Neill believes his team is where they expected to be at this stage of the qualifiers, with two crucial home games against Slovakia and Germany scheduled for October.
“It’s tough to play two games away from home,” he said. “We got what we hoped for, but we’re a bit disappointed it’s not a little bit more.
“We have to be ready to play back-to-back at home and we know two good results will put us in a good position.”